


The Unwanted Cat

by PhospeneOblivion



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 05:08:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12425646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhospeneOblivion/pseuds/PhospeneOblivion
Summary: Reese finds a cat and brings it home.Carter hates the cat.Cat keeps annoying Carter.What the worst thing that could possiblly happen?





	The Unwanted Cat

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short fic for my eng essay! Hope you enjoy it.

Rationale:

This story pays homage to “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” By Thurber with an honourable mention of a character from “The Love of My Life” by T.C. Boyle. The reason I wanted to pay its homage is because there was a particular scene in TSLOWM that enraptured me to write this and that was the scene where Walter vented out his hatred/anger against those who seem to make fun of him e.g. the boy who parked his car and the group of men who helped him in the Garage:

“They’re so damn cocky, thought Walter Mitty, walking along Main Street; they think they know everything.” (line 81-82)

I incorporated a little bit of that into the main character, Carter, who has a strong distaste towards the tomcat that his girlfriend found on her way home. I also added a lil’ dash of Walter Mitty’s wife attitude from the book in here too:

“Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!” said Mrs. Mitty. “What are you driving so fast for?” (Line 21-22)

As well as an honourable mention of a character named Jeremy who actually is the main character in TLoML who finds himself in the court. The story hasn’t verdict whether he is going to jail or not, but I wanted to have some closure so I ended with him in jail. The other thing is that I am aware of the timeline that the characters from TSLoWM takes place after the great depression and TLoML takes places in modern time and so they don’t match, but for story’s sake, please let it slide.

Now on with the story!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carter hears the back door slam shut, followed by shuffling footsteps. “Hey,” he calls over his shoulder, “where’ve you been?” He trails off when he sees the orange fuzz ball in Reese’s hands. “What the hell is that?”  
"It’s a cat," Reese answers holding it up, the thing practically glaring at Carter.  
"I see that," He retorts turning his body so he’s kneeling on the couch, looking at Reese incredulously. "Why is it here though?"  
"I found this lil’ guy behind the dumpster next to the supermarket." Carter opens his mouth to argue, but Reese quickly says, "Look, you don’t have to do anything with him. I’ll take care of him by myself."  
It’s missing half of its left ear, its face looks like it had run a headlong into a wall, and it smells like garbage, but Reese looks like she’s found gold. So, Carter sighs, maneuvers around so he’s sitting on the couch again, and shrugs. “Whatever. Just keep it away from me.”

***  
   
Carter is not jealous of the stupid cat. He doesn’t care if the smug bastard gets to sit contently in Reese’s lap, purring as she runs her fingers through its fur. And he definitely doesn’t care that it has taken up most of Reese’s attention. It’s a cat. How much attention could it possibly even need?  
He glances over at the cat, the thing’s yellow eyes locked on him, and for a moment he actually thinks it’s mocking him. He fixes the cat with a glare but it merely keeps purring, clearly not fazed in the slightest.  
He scoffs, getting to his feet. At Reese’s surprised expression, he mutters, “Gettin’ a beer. Want anything?”  
"Nah, but can you get him some water?" Reese nods at the cat, an adoring smile flitting across her lips when she glances down at it. "We need to give you a name," she gushes fussing with the cat’s fur.  
"What about Asshole?" Carter walks away before Reese can reply, heading into the kitchen. He has no intention of getting the cat anything, opting to just grab his beer instead, but when he turns away from the fridge the cat is sitting behind him, looking up at him.  
"Go away." Carter tries to shoo the cat, but it almost looks amused at his attempt, for a moment reminding him of Reese. "Get." He nudges it with his foot, but it still won’t go away. "I swear…" his words trail off into a frustrated sigh, but he turns to get a bowl from one of the cabinets. "Bug off," he grumbles as he fills the bowl with water.  
***  
   
The cat has made it a habit of following Carter from room to room. He never actually sees it in the act, but sometimes he’ll turn around and there it’ll be, sitting near his feet, acting as if it had intended to enter the room all along. It’s getting annoying.  
He turns the shower off, running a hand through his dripping hair. He yanks the curtain open, clenching his fists when he finds the cat sitting on the toilet.  
"How?" he asks it, knowing he had locked the door. The cat doesn’t acknowledge him, too busy grooming its paws, so Carter decides to just ignore it.  
He climbs out of the tub, grabbing a towel, and wraps it around his hips before unlocking the bathroom door and heading down the hallway. He hip checks his bedroom door open, finding Reese pulling her shoes on, and says, “Keep your creepy cat out of the bathroom.”  
"What?" Reese looks up just as the cat slinks into the room. "You’re not creepy," she tells the cat as it hops onto the bed, crawling into her lap. "Carter is just being paranoid."  
Carter busies himself with getting dressed, ignoring his girlfriend and her stupid cat. He doesn’t have time for this today.

***  
   
There’s nothing on the TV, Reese isn’t home, and Carter is actually kind of bored. He turns the television off, throwing the remote on the rustic coffee table, and leans his head back, staring at the ceiling. Too bad Jeremy got himself arrested, they could have gone pigeon shooting at the park.  
A sudden weight lands in Carter’s lap, startling him, and his head snaps forward to see Reese’s cat making itself comfortable in his lap.  
"No," he says shoving the cat off him. "I ain’t Reese." It waits exactly seven seconds before jumping on him again. "Quit it," he snarls pushing the cat to the floor a second time. This time there isn’t a wait before it’s in his lap, and when Carter tries to shove it off, it digs its claws into his skin.  
"Screw you," he hisses at the cat, but gives up, leaving it where it sits. He’s really starting to hate this thing.

***  
   
Mrs. Mitty ’s never been the best cook. She’s not exactly the worst either (that honour belongs to Walter), but she likes to experiment sometimes, and tonight’s dinner looks like donkey’s faeces.  
"What the hell are you tryin’ to do?" Carter grumbles poking at the food on his plate. "Kill us?"  
"Don’t eat it if you don’t like it, prick," Mrs. Mitty retorts glaring at him. She picks her plate up, leaving him sitting by himself at the kitchen table. He pokes at his food a second time, expecting it to come alive, and says, "Don’t know whether to shoot it or light it on fire."  
Reese’s cat jumps onto the table, creeping towards the plate, giving it a curious sniff. He jerks away, taking a step back, and Carter states, “You ain’t as stupid as you look.”  
Together, cat and man head towards the trash, Carter scrapping the… whatever into the garbage. For caution’s sake, he throws the plate away, too, and then heads towards the back door.  
He takes a seat on the top step, lighting a cigarette. He glances over at Reese’s cat, sitting next to him, watching the fireflies as they blink around the yard.  
"Completely useless," Carter grunts nodding at the bugs. The cat nudges his hand, most likely agreeing with the brunette, and almost absentmindedly Carter scratches him behind his ears.

***  
   
They’re sitting on the couch, watching old music videos on MTV, when Reese gets back from work. Carter looks up, lazily waving at the redhead, his eyes snapping back to the TV.  
"You know," Reese starts taking a seat on Carter’s right, the cat already commandeering Carter’s left. "I’ve been thinking. Maybe you’re right, maybe we don’t need the cat.”  
"What?" Carter’s eyes narrow and he asks, "What does that mean?"  
"Maybe we can give him to a shelter. Or, hey, Annabelle’s always wanted a cat. We can just give him to her."  
"Why though?" Carter glances down at the cat, scratching him behind his ears. "He ain’t hurtin’ anyone here."  
Carter doesn’t catch the small smile that flickers across Reese’s face, but he does hear her say, “I guess we’ve gotta keep him then.”


End file.
